Dist, cops eye ban on ‘certain’ books at Koregaon Bhima

Special official deputed to prevent sale of ‘sensitive’ literature at event to prevent unrest; Dalit orgs decry clampdown on freedom of expression

In the run-up to an event that sparked tremendous controversy around this time last year, the government seems to be going the extra mile to suppress anything it deems ‘sensitive’.

In this vein, the district administration is now all set to censor books that will be sold at Koregaon Bhima, a location visited by lakhs of Dalit community members on January 1 every year, commemorating an eponymous historic battle fought by a Mahar regiment in the British era.

It has emerged that this time round, while permissions for the sales of books will be given, the authorities will not allow any tome with ‘objectionable content’ to be sold on the premises; further, a special official has also been appointed to select books that can be retailed and distributed.

An indication of book censorship was heard at a meet on Friday, attended by (inset, L-R from centre) guardian minister Bapat, social justice minister Badole, c collector Ram, and others

Reacting to this, Dalit activists and organisers of the Pune-based Elgaar Parishad claimed this is yet another method to stifle freedom of expression, asserting that literature cannot be sanitised this way.

Officials from a host of government agencies have been on their toes for the last few months, in efforts to ensure there is no recurrence of rioting and violence at Koregaon Bhima a year down the line. Multiple meetings have already been organised with Dalit organisations and the region’s villagers, even as incessant reviews of preparations for the occasion are being done.

One such meeting was held at the district collector’s office on Friday, with guardian minister Girish Bapat and social justice minister Rajkumar Badole. The gathering went through presentations of top officials about preps. At the same meet, leaders of Ambedkarite organisations requested the authorities that some space be allocated for the sale of books, as is done at other places. Responding to this, officials indicated imminent censorship. While the collector clarified that a space has already been set aside for book stalls, he also said that it will be necessary to see what kind of literature is being sold.

Quizzed about it, superintendent of police (SP – Pune rural) Sandip Patil said, “Some books carry extremist content — these cannot be sold at the location. All other books will be allowed, but some need to be restricted.”

Meanwhile, a special officer has been appointed just for this duty, to visit the war memorial and surrounding spots over two days to scrutinise ‘problematic’ books. In fact, the official has already drawn out a list of ‘objectionable’ books, and will be ensuring that they aren’t sold.

Speaking to Mirroron condition of anonymity, an official shared that this move was aimed at restricting Left-wing groups like Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) and Samata Kala Manch from setting up stalls. These two organisations, along with some others, usually set up kiosks at most events attended by Ambedkarites.

Activists insist this is once again a suppression of those speaking against the government. An organiser of Elgaar Parishad, who did not wish to be named, said, “What is ‘objectionable’ in the books we sell? One is a collection of speeches at Elgaar Parishad over the years. Since people were already raising objections to these speeches, we compiled them and printed a book so that the same people could actually read them and get to their truth. But that is exactly what the government doesn’t want to happen — hence, such moves. This is why they have also detained Chandrashekar Azad alias Ravan of the Bhim Army in Mumbai, and have long been serving notices to activists and organisation members.”

Said another activist, “We experienced the same censorship at a programme we attended in Dehu, only a few days ago. Every now and again, cops enquire about our books and scrutinise them. This is a fear-mongering attempt. We haven’t decided yet if we will be going to Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2019, but also feel the administration’s latest move will yield them nothing.”

Milind Ekbote ‘banned’ from Koregaon Bhima

While the Left has raised its voice against government suppression, police are also taking steps to ensure that some Right-wing leadership is kept away from Koregaon Bhima this time — albeit a tad selectively. A notice was issued this week by rural police to Hindutvawadi leader Milind Ekbote, banning the Samasta Hindu Aghadi chief from visiting any area under their jurisdiction for some days into January.

Interestingly, while multiple notices were sent out to some others, too — including members of KKM and other Left activists — Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan leader Sambhaji Bhide, also accused in the rioting case, was left out.

To this, Dalit organisations demanded that both Ekbote and Bhide be detained till the event is done. SP Patil said, “As preventive measures, we issued notices to all accused in the Koregaon Bhima case to en sure no law and order situation erupts. Certain people will not be allowed to enter any area under the jurisdiction of Pune rural police for a prescribed time period.”

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